# 1963 Cleveland Browns season

The 1963 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 14th season with the National Football League.
Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown led the league in rushing for the sixth time in seven seasons. This was the year that Brown became the NFL's all-time leading rusher, surpassing Joe Perry. As a team, the 1963 Browns gained an NFL-record 5.74 yards per carry.

## Exhibition schedule

| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | August 10 | at Detroit Lions | L 10–24 | | 37,248 |
| 2 | August 17 | Baltimore Colts | L 7–21 | | 83,218 |
| 3 | August 25 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 24–7 | | 28,335 |
| 4 | August 31 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 23–17 | | 45,623 |
| 5 | September 8 | vs. Pittsburgh Steelers | L 7–16 | Canton | 18,462 |
There was a doubleheader on August 17, 1963 Giants vs Lions and Colts vs Browns.

## Schedule

| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 15 | Washington Redskins | W 37–14 | 1–0 | Cleveland Stadium | 57,618 | Recap |
| 2 | September 22 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 41–24 | 2–0 | Cotton Bowl | 28,710 | Recap |
| 3 | September 29 | Los Angeles Rams | W 20–6 | 3–0 | Cleveland Stadium | 54,713 | Recap |
| 4 | October 5 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 35–23 | 4–0 | Cleveland Stadium | 84,684 | Recap |
| 5 | October 13 | at New York Giants | W 35–24 | 5–0 | Yankee Stadium | 62,956 | Recap |
| 6 | October 20 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 37–7 | 6–0 | Cleveland Stadium | 75,174 | Recap |
| 7 | October 27 | New York Giants | L 6–33 | 6–1 | Cleveland Stadium | 84,213 | Recap |
| 8 | November 3 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 23–17 | 7–1 | Franklin Field | 60,671 | Recap |
| 9 | November 10 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 7–9 | 7–2 | Pitt Stadium | 54,497 | Recap |
| 10 | November 17 | St. Louis Cardinals | L 14–20 | 7–3 | Cleveland Stadium | 75,932 | Recap |
| 11 | November 24 | Dallas Cowboys | W 27–17 | 8–3 | Cleveland Stadium | 55,096 | Recap |
| 12 | December 1 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 24–10 | 9–3 | Busch Stadium | 32,531 | Recap |
| 13 | December 8 | at Detroit Lions | L 10–38 | 9–4 | Tiger Stadium | 51,382 | Recap |
| 14 | December 15 | at Washington Redskins | W 27–20 | 10–4 | D.C. Stadium | 40,865 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text. |||||||||

## Playoffs

| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Sources |
| Playoff Bowl | January 5, 1964 | Green Bay Packers | L 23–40 | 0–1 | Miami Orange Bowl | 54,921 | |

## Standings

NFL Eastern Conference :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| New York Giants | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 9–3 | 448 | 280 | W3 |
| Cleveland Browns | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 9–3 | 343 | 262 | W1 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 8–4 | 341 | 283 | L1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 7 | 4 | 3 | .636 | 7–3–2 | 321 | 295 | L1 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 3–9 | 305 | 378 | W1 |
| Washington Redskins | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 2–10 | 279 | 398 | L3 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 2 | 10 | 2 | .167 | 2–8–2 | 242 | 381 | L2 |
       Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
NFL Western Conference :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Chicago Bears | 11 | 1 | 2 | .917 | 10–1–1 | 301 | 144 | W2 |
| Green Bay Packers | 11 | 2 | 1 | .846 | 9–2–1 | 369 | 206 | W2 |
| Baltimore Colts | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 7–5 | 316 | 285 | W3 |
| Detroit Lions | 5 | 8 | 1 | .385 | 4–7–1 | 326 | 265 | L1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 5 | 8 | 1 | .385 | 4–7–1 | 309 | 390 | W1 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 5–7 | 210 | 350 | L2 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | 1–11 | 198 | 391 | L5 |
       Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

## Awards and honors

* Jim Brown, Bert Bell Award